Ennis Lake Fishing Reports
The Tackle Shop Fly Shop and Fishing Guides in Ennis, Montana
Fishing Report for the Heat on the Madison 7/11/2026
River Conditions With the summer heat wave we are seeing the Upper Madison River is in good shape. Currently the flow at Kirby is 1110 CFS and 62 degrees. At Varney Bridge the flow is 1250 CFS and 64 degrees. While the flow is good we are starting to see the temps creep up there. Today the lower Madison went on hoot owl. Soon they will need to start pulsing flows on the lower to keep the temps lower. When this happens they will increase the flow on the upper to move water and keep ...
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Fishing Report for the Madison River 7/5
River Conditions The Madison River is in great shape. The cold and rainy and snow we got last week saved our summer and refreshed the river. The Dam is full and the river has plenty of water in it right now. Currently the flow is 1120 CFS at Kirby Ranch and 56 Degrees. At Varney the flow is 1370 CFS and a temp of 57 degrees. This is right in the sweet spot for the Madison. The creeks will start to decrease inflow in the river and the general level will drop slightly. Otherwise...
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Salmon Flies on the Madison?
Have they Arrived? The Madison River is in great shape right now. The little. pulse of dirty water has more or less gone and we are green and beautiful. At Kirby the river is 1270 CFS and at Varney the flow is 1390 CFS. This is right in the sweet spot for fishing for both waders and floaters. The big question have the bugs arrived. Short answer is yes. There are some bugs down near Ennis in the Varney to Town stretch. The hatch started a few days ago and then the cold days shut ...
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Madison River Fishing Report 5/21/26
River Conditions The Madison River is in great conditions going into the Memorial Day Weekend. It is currently flowing at 684 CFS at Kirby Ranch with a temp of 43 degrees. At Varney it is 904 CFS with a temp of 46 degrees. Yes this is a little low for this time of year. The folks at the Dam are holding water as they should be. This will make the river lower than expected. If we get two or more days above say 75 the creeks will start to pump again. This will put some color into t...
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Fishing Report for the Madison River 5-1-26
The Madison River is in great shape and our spring to remember continues. Currently the flow is 701 CFS and 41 degrees at Kirby Ranch and 840 CFS and 45 degrees at Varney Bridge. Yes it is a little low and will challenge rowers river wide but the fish are where they should be and the water is cold. The folks at the Dam are probably holding as much water as they can with the dry winter. We have seen a few storms that dumped on the high country and added some much needed snow to our basin....
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April 15 Madison River Fishing Report
With all the spring like weather we have been seeing this might just be the best spring fishing we have seen. It has been some darn good fishing for the first half of April. The river at Kirby is 809 CFS and about 42 degrees and at Varney it is 1020 CFS and 47 degrees. While we will probably not see much more water in the river from the Dam folks this is a good spring level. I would bet they are holding as much water as possible with the dry winter we had. Nymph Fishing is King F...
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Fishing Report for the Madison River 9/20/25
River Conditions The Madison River is currently flowing at 942 CFS at Kirby Ranch with a temp of 55 degrees. At Varney Bridge it is 1060 CFS with the same 55 degree temps. At the Ennis Town Access it is 1160 CFS with a temp of 56 degrees. The colder nights and less daylight has been doing good things for the Madison River. Temps are down river wide and fish have taken notice. It is starting to feel like fall in South West Montana. While the flows are still a little on the low side a...
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Fishing Report for the Madison River 9/15/25
Madison River Conditions The Madison River is currently flowing at 875 CFS at Kirby Ranch, 1040 CFS at Varney Bridge and 1080 at Ennis. All of the mid afternoon water temps are around the 60 degree mark. While this looks good it is slightly low. The boat guys are complaining as the bottom gel coats are getting a work out on rocks. The wade guys are loving the flows. Everyone is loving the water temps. In fact there is no rush to get on the river in the morning. Let it warm up a littl...
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Fishing Report for the Madison River 9-1
River Condition With the cool wet weather we have had this last week the Madison River has new life. The current flow is 842 CFS at Kirby, 1030 CFS at Varney and 1150 CFS at the Ennis Bridge. Early morning water temps are sitting around 56 degrees and working up to 60 ish. As long as we do not get that super hot weather we should be in good shape going forward. The river has not switched to fall mode as of yet but the dog days are hopefully behind us. While the boat guys wish th...
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Fishing Report for the Madison River 8-17
Current Madison River Conditions The Madison River is currently flowing at 897 CFS at Kirby with a temp of 59 degrees. The flow at Varney is 1020 CFS with a temp of 59 degrees. While this looks really good for fishing especially dry fly fishing there are a few things beyond the numbers. The stretch between Ennis and Ennis Lake is heating up in the afternoon. 70 degree temps are not uncommon on the hot days down in the channels. If you are fishing this area please q...
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